Inspiration
by bombalurima
Summary: Where Mai picked up her knife-throwing...Lu Ten, little Zuko being cute, and a prissy Azula are all involved.


The Fire Nation Academy for Girls was famed for being the most prestigious finishing school in the entire nation, perhaps in even the whole world. There, young ladies were taught about growing up to be a woman in a world dominated by men. They were not educated in the ways of sewing or cleaning—all of the girls attending had grown up with and would continue to keep servants for such matters their entire lives.

The girls were taught some history and even politics, classes that largely interested Mai. However, they were the only two that managed to do so. Besides those two beacons of light in an otherwise bleak day, most of the other lessons involved manners, dancing, art, running a household and how to make 'polite conversation'—in short, what would groom the young ladies into becoming obedient, well-bred, yet not entirely brainless wives.

Azula had loudly informed every one of her teacher's that the only reason she was here was because she did not want to sit at home all day with various tutors, as her brother did. Most of the teachers there seemed to believe that if this were the case, then Azula was there to make friends. After about a year into their friendship though, Mai had it figured out—Azula was there to make minions.

All of the classes bored the young princess to tears, and she spent most of the time sitting in the very back of the room with Mai and Ty Lee, whispering gossip about the other girls, and plotting pranks to pull on their classmates. Ty Lee would giggle and go along with everything Azula ever orchestrated, and as a result, her grades suffered. Mai however, took place far less often in Azula's schemes and paid far more attention (when she wasn't day-dreaming about Zuko), so her grades flourished.

It was important, her mother reminded her at least twice a week, that she keep her good grades up. They were crucial lessons she was learning, after all, ones that would help her catch a husband and stay a good, well-respected wife and mother for the rest of her life.

Mai didn't bother telling her mother that she hated children, and had no intention to marry anyone…at least, no one but a certain prince.

Still, despite what her mother said, there were some things that Mai would put to good use later on in her life that she did not learn in the classroom.

Mai was eight years old the first and last time she met Zuko and Azula's elder cousin, Lu Ten. The son of the famed General Iroh, who was the heir to the Fire Nation throne, and apparently a brilliant soldier, Mai had heard about him from Zuko a few times before.

The nine-year old prince absolutely worshipped his cousin, who was twelve years his senior.

"Lu Ten's the greatest soldier there ever was," He bragged to her once, after Mai had asked who the young man in a picture with Iroh hanging on the wall was. "He's really strong…and smart too! He's off fighting now…but he's gonna come home for a visit with Uncle really soon."

Mai had smiled, looking at the portrait of Lu Ten with his father. He did look like Iroh, with the slightly-rounded face that Azula and Zuko did not have, and kind, but sharp and observant eyes. She thought he looked rather handsome, actually, but didn't dare mention this to Zuko.

Needless to say, Azula thought considerably less of their cousin than Zuko did.

"He's all right," She shrugged, rolling her golden eyes as if there were far more important things she had to think about. "He isn't around all that often, he's too busy off in the war, but when he _is_, Zuko follows him like a little puppy. It's sickening."

"I think it's sweet!" Ty Lee, naturally, chirped. Mai agreed—but it seemed unwise to say that out loud.

"You _would…" _Azula said scornfully, and then changed the subject to how her Firebending lessons were coming along, something that Ty Lee oohed and aahed at, but Mai promptly tuned out.

A few weeks later, on a lovely spring day that Mai would have otherwise wasted trapped up in her bedroom, Azula summoned both her and Ty Lee to the palace—Lu Ten was visiting, home briefly from the war, she said, but we don't have to pay any attention to him.

Azula's plan was to avoid talking much to her elder cousin, avoiding him and the rest of her family if at all possible (which would not be hard, considering they were all visiting with General Iroh and Lu Ten). It depressed Mai a little to know that she would not see Zuko at all then ("He's too busy fawning over Lu Ten, of course," Azula had sneered).

However, the princess's plan did not exactly work out accordingly—one of the few times Mai had ever witnessed such an event happen. In an attempt to sneak past the sitting room where her mother and brother where talking with Lu Ten, Princess Ursa caught sight of them, and called from inside the room, "Azula, why don't you bring your friends over and introduce them to your cousin?"

Azula grumbled something under her breath, but answered in a grudging tone, "Yes, Mother…" before ushering Ty Lee and Mai inside.

Princess Ursa sat on a scarlet couch, looking as lovely and composed as ever. Across from her, on a matching couch, Zuko was perched beside a much taller, older, and very handsome young man that Mai recognized instantly from the portrait.

"Hello Azula," The young man greeted her, dipping his head to his little cousin. He had the same black hair and gold eyes that the entire royal family possessed, but with the rounder face and warm eyes that she had noticed in the picture.

Azula merely threw herself down on the couch next to her mother with only a stiff nod to Lu Ten, obviously not finding him worthy enough to bestow words on. At her obvious brush-off of him, the corners of Lu Ten's mouth twitched.

"And who might these two lovely ladies be?" He inquired then, turning to face Mai and Ty Lee, who had remained on their feet.

At this, Ty Lee noticeably blushed and giggled, obviously flattered. Mai knew she had six sisters to compete with for attention at home, and that even the slightest bit of warm words from a boy, especially one as older and good-looking as Lu Ten, would spark something inside of her to life, something that she could only call _flirtatious._

Likewise, Mai blushed as well, unable to help herself. While the servants at home praised her every day as they combed her hair or helped her with her dress, calling her a "pretty little porcelain doll" and other such nonsense words, none of _them _had ever said it with warmth in their voice, as Lu Ten just had. It was nice, to be called lovely, and realize that, to a certain degree, the person who spoke it wasn't saying so because duty called for it.

"Azula," Ursa gently nudged her daughter and shot her an imploring look.

"They're my friends," Azula said in a monotone, gesturing towards the other two girls. "Mai and Ty Lee. This is my cousin, Lu Ten."

"It's nice to meet you both," Lu Ten smiled at the pair of them.

"Why don't you two sit down?" Ursa indicated beside her on the couch, and both of the little girls moved to sit, each staring, wide-eyed, over at Lu Ten.

Mai glanced over at Zuko, who for some reason looked a tad irritated. She smiled shyly at him and waved a little. He returned the smile, a bit grudgingly, and waved back, straightening himself up from the moody slump he had previously been in.

"Now Lu Ten…" Ursa turned back to her nephew. "What were you saying?"

The conversation started again where it had left off, evidentially, Lu Ten was telling his aunt and cousin about the quality of the camps most of the soldiers had to make do in, apparently horrible. It wasn't all that interesting to Mai, and instead of listening to Lu Ten describe scenes that she would never have to see in her life, she watched Zuko instead, who hung on to every one of his cousin's words like honey itself was dripping from Lu Ten's lips. Mai almost felt a sting of envy—she wished she could capture his attention that easily.

"I'm bored," Azula, who had sat quietly and listened to her relatives talk for a few minutes, suddenly declared, interrupting Lu Ten's description of some of the mountain chains in the Earth Kingdom, places Mai would never see.

"Young lady!" Ursa shot her daughter a quick glare, which Azula ignored.

"No, no…" Lu Ten let out a light, easy laugh. "The mountains bored me too after a while. I bet you'd rather hear about some of the actual battles, huh?"

"Not only that," Azula said prissily. "But I want to see your weapons too. Did you bring any with?"

Ursa opened her mouth to protest, but Lu Ten shrugged and said, "A few. Mostly just a few shuriken knives that I keep with me at all times, out of habit more than anything."

"I want to see them," Azula said, and it was no mere request, but a command.

Lu Ten exchanged a glance with Ursa, who merely sighed and waved him on. Lu Ten reached into the billows of his long sleeve, and after a moment, slid out a small collection of the star-shaped knives.

Azula promptly snatched them from her elder cousin, examining them in the bright light that streamed in from the wide window behind them.

"They're all right," She dismissed loftily, twirling one around her finger. Mai watched it spin, noticing how it shone and flashed as it did, and felt a sudden, unexplainable urge to whirl it around her own finger.

"Just 'all right'?" Lu Ten asked with mock-hurt, taking the shuriken back. "You can pierce through someone's armor if this little baby is thrown with just the right amount of skill!"

"Really?" Mai found herself blurting out the question before she could stop it, feeling oddly intrigued by the object in Lu Ten's hand.

"Of course," Lu Ten snorted. He got to his feet then and declared, "Here, I'll show you." Both Zuko and Mai nearly jumped to their feet, and as they did, Lu Ten was quick to amend, "Er…as long as it's all right with your mother, of course."

"_Please_, Mom!" Zuko turned his pleading golden eyes up onto Ursa.

"All right," Princess Ursa smiled down at her boy for a moment, before looking up at her nephew. "Just make sure this little lesson stays outdoors…and _don't _throw it at moving objects. That _includes_ servants walking past with trays of food, Lu Ten."

"Sorry 'bout that Aunt Ursa," Lu Ten apologized awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "But don't you worry…I'll keep everything under control."

"Well then…off you go," Ursa dismissed them with a wave, and Zuko and Lu Ten were each out the door like a flash. Mai tagged along behind them, and evidentially, Azula had decided that there was nothing else for her to do, as she and Ty Lee were coming as well.

"Wait until you see how _good _Lu Ten is," Zuko murmured in a low voice to her as they followed on his cousin's heels, bobbing along behind him like two little rowboats in the wake of a grand, luxurious steamer, Azula and Ty Lee skulking along a distance behind. "He can hit a target a hundred times out of a hundred tries!"

"You really think so?" Mai peered up at the broad back of the older boy striding in front of her. Neither of them could even guess at that time that one day Zuko would be boasting the same thing about Mai—and that he'd be correct.

"I _know _so," He assured her, beaming like the sun. That was Zuko…that was always Zuko. He was her own personal sun, warming her and breathing light, energy, and life itself into her, no matter how dark and gloomy she and her cold little world were. It had always been that way, and would be so until the day she left this world for the next one.

Lu Ten led them outside to a courtyard, not the one that Zuko usually occupied with his mother by the turtle-duck pond, but a different one, dotted with only a few trees and benches here and there.

"So, let's see this!" Azula challenged, glowering at her elder cousin as they stepped out into the sunlight.

"Well, first I need a target to aim for," Lu Ten explained patiently, peering around for something he could use.

"You could use Zuko," Azula smirked, shooting a taunting look her brother's way. "It'll be the only thing he's ever good for."

"Shut up, Azula…" Zuko muttered under his breath, but Mai caught his wince—the words stung more than he'd let on.

"As…wonderful a target as that sound, I'm afraid that won't do," Lu Ten shook his head. "I need something…" He glanced upwards, towards the branches of the apple trees, swaying gently in the breeze. "Aha. How does an apple for a target sound?"

"Good enough," Azula seemed appeased, settling down on the ground and crossing her legs like a boy would. "But make sure it's far enough away."

Ty Lee, of course, plopped down right next to her. Mai sat down a little closer to Lu Ten, and Zuko remained standing near his cousin's side, Azula's previous stinging comment forgotten as he watched Lu Ten assume a throwing stance and pull his arm back, the shuriken held lightly in his fingers.

Mai watched his movements—they were firm, a little stiff, but still, the shuriken got where it needed to go—just about. With a sharp whistling sound, the knife shot across the length of half the courtyard and struck the stem of the apple Lu Ten had been aiming for, sending it falling to the ground.

"Wow…" Ty Lee breathed. "I could _never_ come that close to hitting it!"

"It should have struck the apple," Lu Ten frowned, ignoring Ty Lee (to which she looked considerably annoyed), "My aim was a little off…"

"Try again!" Zuko encouraged, handing him another shuriken from the small collection he had been eagerly holding for his cousin. It seemed that whatever Lu Ten was doing, even if it was merely _breathing,_ Zuko wanted to watch, as he could soak in some of the older boy's presence and come out a better person because of it.

Lu Ten took aim at another apple, and again, cleaved the stem right from the fruit. He made a few more attempts, aiming for apples at various lengths away from him, and each time, his aim got a little worse, obviously coupled with his growing frustration.

Mai watched him each time and noticed how firm his stance was, how rigid he stood, his feet planted firmly onto the cobblestones. His wrist movement seemed well enough, but Mai figured that unless you were a master, used to years and years of practice, using only your wrist simply would not do. It took your whole body, to move as one with the blade, in order to hit your target.

"Let me have a try," Azula suddenly demanded, getting to her feet. Lu Ten, looking rather flustered, looked ready to snap something at her, but the second their eyes connected, her's alight with determination and his glazed over with defeat, he obviously thought better of it. Without a word, he handed his little cousin a shuriken and stood back next to Zuko, who was watching his sister rather darkly.

Azula's stance was a little better, but her aim was terrible—her shuriken struck the branch directly above the apple and imbedded itself in the bark.

"That was a good try!" Ty Lee insisted, applauding for the princess anyway. "It's _still _much better than what I could do!"

"A turtle-duck could do better than you!" Azula fumed at her, before turing away from Ty Lee's injured expression and back to her cousin. "Your weapon's are poorly made, and there's a breeze going. How am I supposed to hit the stupid apple with things like that interfering?"

"I have no idea," Lu Ten suppressed a smile.

Azula huffed at this unfairness, and threw herself back down on the ground next to a still-wounded Ty Lee. Lu Ten meanwhile, reached for another shuriken.

"There's only one left," Zuko said, handing his cousin the last of the knives.

"Well then…" Lu Ten offered the weapon to the other prince as he offered, "Would you like a turn?"

"Oh…oh no!" Though he looked tempted, Zuko shook his head, long dark hair slapping his face. "I'd rather see you do it."

"Any takers?" Lu Ten turned to the three girls on the ground.

"I couldn't," Ty Lee declined. "But thanks anyway…"

"Mai?" Lu Ten smiled down at her, and Mai, for the life of her, couldn't think of any reason why she should say no.

"All right."

Azula and Ty Lee both looked surprised as Mai slowly got to her feet and daintily brushed herself off. She didn't meet Zuko's gaze, but she could feel his eyes on her as, with a slightly shaky hand, she took the blade from Lu Ten.

The metal was cold, the one blade pointing into her palm sharp, and the entire weapon itself was just about bigger than her own little hand. And yet….it felt _right. _It felt solid and light all at once, and when her fingers curled around it, a jolt of adrenaline she had never felt before shot through her like lightning.

"Now then…" Lu Ten stood beside her, and gently raised her arm, pulling it slightly behind her. "You want your arm to be like _this…_and your legs-"

"Like this," Mai stood with one foot planted a bit behind her, her legs looser than Lu Ten's had been, and her stance different as well.

"Well…" Lu Ten examined her posture, clearly longing to correct it.

"Let her go ahead with it!" Azula giggled. "Honestly, Mai? You're not even going to hit the _tree!_

__Mai ignored her, and so did Lu Ten, but he sighed and remarked instead, "Fine then…but you're not going to get it much far with that stance of yours."

Mai blocked him out of her mind, blocked the rest of the entire world out of her mind, and looked towards an apple about halfway across the courtyard. Everything around it was a blur. The apple stood out, bright red and oh-so-tantalizing. She, it, and the knife in her hand were the only three things that existed in the universe.

Quick as a flash, almost without realizing just how she did it, Mai flicked her wrist backwards, leaning slightly on her back foot as she did, and then leaned a little more forward again, her wrist snapping to copy the movement of her feet.

The shuriken flew like an arrow let loose from a bow—and pierced the apple with such force, it fell to the ground to join it's severed companions, its stem still whole and intact unalike its fellows, but bleeding juice from the hole drilled into it.

Azula's little chuckles stopped abruptly. Ty Lee let out an exaggerated gasp and turned wide gray eyes up over to Mai. Lu Ten and Zuko were both staring at the fallen apple, which continued to ooze juice, now forming a small puddle.

And Mai…Mai had never felt better, not even when Zuko smiled at her. It felt like a veil had been lifted off of her eyes, that something inside her mind had been dusted off and was now gleaming. She felt sharper, clearer…and she wanted to do it again.

"How did you…?" Lu Ten ogled at the apple, then turned his head to look back at Mai, who was now positively quivering with excitement and adrenaline.

"That was awesome!" Zuko gasped, running up to Mai with wonder and exhilaration in his golden eyes. "You were…GAH! I didn't know you could do that!"

"Me…me neither," Mai admitted, feeling the tell-tale blush arise on her face at Zuko being so close to her.

Azula scrambled to her feet, a heavy scowl suddenly on her face. "That was pure _luck…_I bet you can't do it again!"

"Well…let's test that theory out," Lu Ten suggested, pulling the shuriken from the apple and handing it back to Mai.

"I bet you're wrong…" Mai couldn't help but say under her breath towards Azula. She didn't know if the princess had overheard or not—a part of her hoped she hadn't. A part of her hoped she had.

Azula had miscalculated. There was only going to be one other incident in their lives where Mai told her as much, a much more intense moment, one that she had committed out of nothing but pure love and passion for the boy standing next to her now, clapping and cheering every time her shuriken pierced another apple. No matter the distance, her aim was always true.

"Guess you were wrong, Azula," Lu Ten chuckled lightly, removing the shuriken from one last bleeding apple.

"This is _dumb, _anyway!" Azula snarled. "Who would _want _to hit a stupid old apple with a shuriken in the first place?"

"Oh, stop it…" Lu Ten rolled his eyes as he handed the shuriken back to Mai. "You're just sore that she showed you up."

At this, Azula let out an indignant gasp, and spluttered a few incoherent things, before huffing and pivoting on her foot, marching back inside. Ty Lee went to follow her, but as she slipped past Mai, she whispered under her breath to the older girl, "That _was really good, _Mai…"

"Azula's just a big brat," Zuko informed his cousin once his sister was out of earshot.

"Don't I know it?" Lu Ten laughed a little again. "Zuko, d'you mind collecting all my other knives? I want to talk to Mai."

"….sure," Zuko shot his cousin a suspicious, distrustful glare, but hurried to do his bidding, scurrying all over the courtyard to collect the other fallen shuriken.

"Thank you…" Mai remembered her manners and bowed respectfully to Lu Ten, the blood still pounding in her head, urging her to do it again, to throw some more, to embrace her new-found talent. "That was…" But she couldn't find words to describe how amazing it had been.

"Something else," Lu Ten finished the sentence for her. "You've…you've got a real gift, little missy. I think some of the warriors would be able to learn a thing or two from you!"

At this, Mai blushed all the way to the roots of her silky midnight hair, and Lu Ten laughed, gazing down at the star-struck little girl with new affection.

"Thank you…anyway…here you go." With this, Mai slowly held his shuriken out, offering it back to him. She was loathe to part with it, every cell in her body was screaming to take it and run, but it didn't belong to her. The few minutes of joy she had experienced with it were her's to keep, but nothing else.

"No…." Lu Ten suddenly shook his head. "I want you to keep it."

Mai was rather taken aback by this. "You…you _do!"_

"You bet, I do," Lu Ten nodded, squatting down slightly so they were eye-to-eye. "But in order for that to happen, you need to promise me one thing…"

Mai nodded enthusiastically, willing to do just about anything to keep this simple object made of metal in her hand.

"I want you to promise that you'll put it to good use someday," Lu Ten instructed. "This blade is only your first among many, I can see that much…but put this one to the best use you've ever had. All right?"

"Yes…I promise," Mai bobbed her head, clutching her prize with fingers already itching to throw it again.

Lu Ten smiled, patted her shoulder and remarked, "'Atta girl. You show 'em all."

One hour later, Mai was practicing throwing it at her bedroom wall, choosing different points to aim for, increasing her speed, the distance she was throwing, and changing her target whenever she felt she was ready to kick it up a notch.

One year later, Lu Ten was dead. Mai almost considered finding his grave and burying the knife with him…but she held onto it. He would not want her to place it in the ground, when it had yet to fulfill its grand achievement.

She lost it nearly seven years later. It had been used to halt a prison guard in the act of sawing a line to a gondola off. It had been used to give away her freedom, so someone else could keep his. It had been used to save Zuko's life.

Mai thought later, sitting cold, dirty, hungry, and _proud, _in her prison cell, that she had kept her promise pretty damn well, if she did say so herself.


End file.
